National Media Institute of Southern Africa (Namisa) Best Blogger Award for 2015

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

A Malawian taste of Supplì alla Romana (first published in Tiyende magazine for Malawi Airlines but blog photos)

It was about 5:20 am when
Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET702 touched down in the ancient city of Rome,
Italy, on a rather humid day after a very smooth and comfortable flight from
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It was transfer route from
Lilongwe, Malawi so when I saw the ancient ruins of Rome, I knew my visit at
the invitation of the US Mission to the United Nations Agencies in Rome for
meetings with UN agencies would be successful.

I was among five journalists
invited to Rome from 10-15 July for meetings with World Food Programme (WFP),
the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Luckily, at the airport a WFP
official was there to welcome us and immigration proceedings went smoothly so
we were able to rest at Hotel Fortyseven Albergo in Rome before a brief
orientation and lunch on the rooftop balcony.

Ben Jumbe took this photo of me on the balcony restaurant

Just when we were about to order
pasta one of the women spotted rice and we agreed to order that dish. In
between, when the waitress brought what I thought was a complimentary snack, I
got excited but alas it was not meant to be!

What I thought was the ordered
lunch meal turned out to be a very tasty and delicious Italian appetizer known
as Arancinci or Suppli. I could taste the cheese and tomato sauce inside
the rice rolled up into balls coated with breadcrumbs.

My lunch that day

One of the male journalists,
before tasting the rice balls, stressed how he was "an African man who
needed food". After tasting the appetizer he was silenced by its
delicious taste.

Speaking with a beautiful heavy
Italian accent, the waitress explained how Suppli in Sicily includes meat and
other things, unlike the Roman cuisine which is mostly cheese. Back home in
Malawi we easily prepare spaghetti with meatballs and macaroni and cheese.

The closest to suppli was when
we rolled the meatballs full of breadcrumbs in cake or bread flour before
frying, but it was nothing close to the Italian masterpiece.

Ben from Uganda was a lot of fun

I also witnessed how some pasta
dishes are served as a 'first courses in Italy", while others are prepared
"in light lunches such as salads".

Italy and its food were also in
the back of my mind when the US Mission to the United Nations Agencies in Rome
gave us a Roma 48 hours pass to visit historical sites in the city.These included the Colosseum known as Colosseo, the biggest amphitheatre which
started in 72 AD by Vepasiamo of the Flavia family hence it is also known
as the "Amphiteatrum Flavium".

Other tourist attraction sites
included the Panteon, Fontana di trevi Piazza di Spagna and the Basilica San
Pietro.

According to Agata D. Francesco
of Blue Italy tour guide, the Colosseum’s ancient builders obtained volcanic
dust, sand and lime mixed with cement like material to build the strong
structures.

She said the ancient Romans
built a foundation on volcanic rock and animal games were played inside during
the morning and gladiator ones in the afternoon.

“The arena was made of wood
covered by a thick layer of sand to absorb blood. The Romans got lions, giraffes and ostriches
from Africa and found wild animals in the Saharan desert.

“They imported them and were
paid and financed by rich people to get the exotic animals. The red marble was from the south of Egypt,
the yellow from Tunisia and the others from parts of Africa”, she said.

Ancient Rome was influenced by
Egypt which it conquered after the Greeks hence the slaves were also likely
used to carry things for building.
Egyptian style architecture is also seen among the Roman arcs.

Agata D. Francesco of Blue Italy tour guide

One well-known Roman figure in
Africa was Julius Caesar, a Roman politician and politician. Caesar also
connected to ancient Egypt’s Cleopatra was assassinated on March 5, 44 BC by
Marchus Junius Brutus.

Caesar’s body was cremated, and
on the site of his cremation, the Temple of Caesar was erected a few years
later (at the east side of the main square of the Roman Forum.

We saw the altar that remains
during our historical tour of the ancient city which left us breathless and
experiencing the best of Italy.